CEBU, Philippines — Cebu City assistant engineer Nilo Igot has admitted that the contractor of the new city hospital building has failed to complete the first phase of the project within the contract period.

C.E Padilla Construction Inc. was supposed to finish the structural framework of the hospital building on December 27, 2018 but did not make it. Igot said the contractor was only able to complete 97 percent of the scope of work because of the delay in the delivery of materials. He said the elevator roof and the machine room are the only remaining works to be done to complete the phase one.

Igot said the Department of Engineering and Public Works, which supervises the project, was constantly reminding the contractor of the deadline. The first phase of the project has a contract price of P514.97 million.

He said an evaluation is now being done by the city government to determine the liability of the contractor. Igot said the contractor will definitely face sanction for violating the contract.

“Nagdali mi, nagdali ang taw and ang government nagdali nga mahuman. That is why naa’y contract time, there is no such thing as perpetual contract time,” Igot said.

“Naa sila’y sanction, that is why naa’y liquidity damages if they cannot finish the contract within the contract time,” Igot added.

The same contractor also won the second phase of the project amounting to P283.4 million. Igot, however, defended the city government’s allowing the contractor to participate in the bidding despite having incurred slippage.

According to Igot, the slippage when the bidding for the second phase was conducted last January was not yet enough to blacklist C.E. Padilla Construction Inc.

The second phase of the construction involves installation of power lines and communication tools.

Although C.E. Padilla was already declared winning bidder, Mayor Tomas Osmeña has yet to issue a notice to proceed. Despite the delay, Igot said the first three floors of the new hospital building will be operational by April. (FREEMAN)

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